Richard S. Tedlow

Richard S. Tedlow is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he is a specialist in the history of business.

Professor Tedlow received his B.A. from Yale in 1969 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Columbia in 1971 and 1976 respectively. He came to the Harvard Business School on a fellowship in 1978 and joined the faculty in 1979. From 1979 through 1982, he taught First Year Marketing. His involvement in marketing has continued, and he has been a member of the faculty of the "Strategic Retail Management Seminar," the "Top Management Seminar for Retailers and Suppliers," "Managing Brand Meaning," and the "Strategic Marketing Management" executive education programs. From 1978 to the present, he has been involved in the School's Business History program. In 1992 and 1993, he taught a course entitled "Business, Government, and the International Economy." He has also taught in numerous executive programs at the Harvard Business School as well as at corporations, including programs in marketing strategy and general management. His book -- Giants of Enterprise: Seven Business Innovators and the Empires They Built (HarperBusiness, 2001) -- was selected by Business Week as one of the top ten business books of 2001.

Prof. Tedlow’s book, Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American, was published by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, in November 2006. It was selected by Business Week as one of the top ten business books of 2006.

Prof. Tedlow's most recent book, Denial: Why Business Leaders Fail to Look Facts in the Face, was published by Portfolio in March, 2010. It was selected by strategy+business as one of the best business books of 2010.

Featured Work

Denial -- the unconscious belief that a certain fact is too terrible to face and therefore cannot be true -- has torpedoed many good businesses and more than a few great ones. It turns challenges into crises, and dilemmas into catastrophes. It is one of the greatest obstacles business leaders face.

In Denial, Richard S. Tedlowtackles two essential questions: Why have so many sane, smart leaders refused to accept and act on the facts that threatened their companies and careers? And how have some executives found the courage to resist denial when facing new trends, changing markets, and tough new competitors?

To answer these questions, Tedlow takes an in-depth look at examples of people and organizations that were crippled by denial, including Ford, Coke, and Sears. He also shows how companies like DuPont, Intel, and Johnson & Johnson were able to acknowledge harsh realities about their products, markets, and organizations, and use that information not only to avoid catastrophe, but to achieve greatness.

Finally, Tedlow identifies common signs of denial to look for in your own company such as using jargon to mask trouble, or focusing on a glitzy new headquarters rather than the competition. Denial will always be with us, but some people are particularly skillful at battling it. This book can help you to become one of them.

Publications

This book deals with two of the biggest problems in business: Why do sane, smart leaders often refuse to accept the facts that threaten their companies? And how do they find the courage to resist denial when facing new trends, changing markets, and tough new competitors?

From the table of contents: Andrew Carnegie: From Rags to Richest; George Eastman and the creation of a mass market; Henry Ford: The Profits and the Price of Primitivism; Thomas J. Watson Sr. and American salesmanship; Charles Revson and Revlon: Consumer Packaged Goods and the Television Revolution; Sam Walton: All-American; Robert Noyce and Silicon Valley: Toward a New Business World.

The article presents an interview with business historian Richard Tedlow on the topic of why chief executive officers (CEOs) sometimes refuse to acknowledge data or information that indicate they need to shift their strategy. He notes that denial is a typical response to terrifying truths. He says CEOs need to surround themselves with people unafraid to be truthful, and that CEOs should be proactive in soliciting contrary points of view.

Henry Ford's stubborn refusal to admit the changeability of consumer demand allowed Chrysler and GM to horn in on his market. Half a century later the whole U.S. auto industry made the same mistake: Enter the Japanese. But denial comes in many forms, as Sears, Digital Equipment, and Bear Stearns can attest.

Friedman, Walter, and Richard S. Tedlow. "The Visible Man: An Historiographical Investigation of Quantitative Studies of American Business Leadership." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 98-101, May 1998. View Details

In the wake of slumping sales and sagging profit margins, a leading manufacturer and retailer of high-end women's apparel, Harrington Collection, must evaluate an opportunity to expand into the high-growth active-wear market. Sara Huey, Vice President of Strategic Planning, calls on two of her colleagues to help perform a comprehensive market evaluation. They must analyze the financial implications of the opportunity, assess trade and competitor reactions, consider the risks, and determine whether the Vigor division of the company will be able to successfully launch and manage the new product line.

Du Pont's realization in 1921 that its "U-form" corporate structure was ill-suited to its new diversification strategy led to a pioneering new kind of organization—the "M" or multidivisional form—that has been called the most important innovation of capitalism in the 20th century. This case examines how and why this pivotal transformation took place and what its implications may be for corporations that are trying to align their structure with their strategy as they undergo rapid growth and change.

Discusses the value systems and their relationship to the conduct of business in 18th Century America. Also focuses on Benjamin Franklin, the preeminent colonial American, to examine how business was conducted in his era. Based on an earlier case by B.E. Supple.

Presents an historical overview of the professional career of James E. Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Examines the corporation's handling of three major occurrences--the Tylenol poisonings in 1982 and 1986 and the acquisition and subsequent sale of Technicare, a maker of diagnostic imaging equipment.

Covers the history of Tylenol from the autumn of 1982 through the second tampering incident in February 1986. Also deals with other developments in the history of Johnson & Johnson, especially the acquisition and divestiture of Technicare.

The company is attempting to duplicate its Australian formula for successful mall ownership in the U.S. market. It must deal with rapidly evolving financial markets while recognizing and capitalizing on emerging trends in retailing.

Describes the Darwinian internal and external processes that lead to poor performance from a previously well performing company. Demonstrates why any business design eventually fails and the role of organizational calcification and poor leadership in the failure. Also provides prescriptions to prevent and alleviate the problems.

Calls for a decision on whether Hart Schaffner & Marx, the nation's leading manufacturer of high quality, branded suits, should expand its product line by marketing suits that are separately ticketed (i.e., the coat, vest, and slacks are sold from individual hangers and priced separately by the retailer rather than being sold and priced as an ensemble). Serves as a vehicle for discussing product policy issues in the context of a fragmented, mature, and highly competitive industry. Related issues of channel management, pricing, and advertising also must be analyzed. Demands skilled quantitative analysis of a complex breakeven situation.

Tedlow, R. S. "What the Titans Can Teach Us: Lessons from the Giants of Enterprise." Paper presented at the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California Bay Area Regional Event, February 01, 2005. View Details

Research Summary

Richard S. Tedlow is currently working on a book concerning historical examples of outstanding businesspeople who faced daunting challenges. The book is divided into two parts: "Getting It Wrong" and "Getting It Right." Many times, great businesspeople have simply refused to face reality, and they and their organizations have suffered dreadfully as a result. The reality of which Prof. Tedlow writes was not only knowable to these businesspeople at the time, it was in fact known by them. This is not a book that exploits hindsight. The question which the first half of the book explores is: Why, knowing that they were facing disaster, did these great businesspeople not change course? The second part of the book explores business executives facing similarly difficult dilemmas who did change course. The question with which the book deals is: Why is it that some people "get it wrong" while others "get it right"?

Richard S. Tedlow's research explores changes in the leadership strategies, styles, and backgrounds of corporate chief executive officers in the United States over the past century and a half. This project has both a qualitative and a quantitative component. The qualitative issues are described and analyzed in his book Giants of Enterprise: Seven Business Leaders and the Empires They Built (New York: HarperBusiness, 2001). The discussion of these seven business visionaries provides a prism through which we can see the evolution of American business and the American chief executive officer over the course of a century and a half. Business Week selected Giants of Enterprise as one of the top 10 business books of 2001. The quantitative side of this research is composed of data gathered on the CEOs of the nation's 250 largest corporations at different points in history. This database consists of demographic information (such as age, income, education, and place of birth) and information on career path (including number of companies worked at, number of jobs held, and number of years in business before reaching the top).
Professor Tedlow's most recent book is a dual biography of the Thomas J. Watsons, Sr. and Jr., and the long term impact of their leadership on IBM. Entitled The Watson Dynasty: The Fiery Reign and Troubled Legacy of IBM's Founding Father and Son. This book was published by HarperBusiness in November 2003.
Professor Tedlow has just competed Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American. It is forthcoming from Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, on November 2, 2006.

History has lessons to teach about the role of denial in the decline of companies. The stubborn refusal of the U.S. automobile industry to admit the changeability of consumer demand is one of the best examples.

Will History Happen to You?

By Richard S. Tedlow, The Times of India, March 25, 2008.

Why is it that great firms -- companies with the smartest executives and the most powerful competitive advantages -- persist in the mistakes of their predecessors?